Thursday, January 13, 2011

Suhail Khan discusses claim of Muslim Brotherhood take over of CPAC


According to leading conservative Frank Gaffney, CPAC has come under the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, and told World Net Daily that Islamism has infiltrated the American Conservative Union. Suhail Khan discusses these absurd claims.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Rod Williams has ties to Muslim terrorist organizations.

by Rod Williams, Jan 12, 2011- There are allegation that proponents of Shariah Law and Muslim Jihadist have infiltrated the conservative movement.

The most important conservative political gatherings in the nation is the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was founded in 1973 and anyone who is anyone in the conservative movement attends this annual gathering. It is often the  launching pad for conservative candidates who seek and often win the Republican Presidential nomination. Ronald Reagan, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich have been keynote speakers at the annual CPAC conference.

The sponsor of the CPAC conference is the American Conservative Union. ACU has been around since 1964 and is a leading voice in grassroots American conservative thought and activism. In addition to ACU, over 100 organization including The American Rifle Association, Human Events, and Eagle Forum are participants in CPAC.

There are two specific claims to support the charge that CPAC has been infiltrated by jihadist:

1. Suhail Khan a Washington lobbyist and attorney, who was on the staff of the George W. Bush White House, is apparently a member of a group called Muslims for America and he is also on the board of the ACU.

From a web search, it appears that Muslims for America is a pro-American, patriotic, bi-partisan organization. They state they have, "zero tolerance for any kind of terrorism." Their web site denounces terrorism and features news of Muslim clerics and Muslim leaders and Muslim pop stars who denounce terrorism.

Khan's father, it is alleged, was a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in America and Khan was also reportedly on the board of CAIR (The Council on American-Islamic Relations) and served on committees at ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America). Both CAIR and ISNA have been classified by the US government as terrorist organization and have a relationship to Hamas.

2. The other connection is Grover Norquist. Norquist, who is married to an Arab-American Muslim women, is on the board of ACU. He is a founder of Americans for Tax Reform and is a former Executive Director of the National Taxpayers Union. He has a long history of conservative and anti-communist activism including, during the cold war, assisting the Contra rebels in Nicaragua and building support for other anti-soviet movements in the world.

Americans for Tax Reform is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization and was founded in 1985 and is dedicated to resisting increases in the personal or business income tax. Norquist is co-founder of an organization called the Islamic Free Market Institute. It is alleged that Norquist is also associated with other Muslim organizations that allegedly have ties to terrorist organization.

This latest charge of CPAC ties to terrorist organization may destroy CPAC. There has already developed a splintering in CPAC, not due to the allegation of ties to Muslim terrorist, but due to the admission of GoProud as a sponsor. GoProud is a gay conservative group and a couple of the family values type conservative organizations are pulling out of CPAC because CPAC admitted GoProud. CPAC has also been hit with an embezzlement scandal.

The allegations of CPAC jihadist ties have primarily been reported by World Net Daily, however they have also been made by other influential conservatives including Michelle Malkin, Pamela Geller, and David Horowitz.

I have no way of knowing if the allegation of conservatives with ties to terrorist organization are true or not or if the paranoid wing nuts are off on a tangent of character assignation looking for Jihadist under every bed. Certainly there have always been traitors and efforts of our enemies to infiltrate American organization and there have been front groups doing the bidding of foreign interest. It has always happened. Benedict Arnold and Alger Hiss were real people. Prior to American entry into World War II, Germany helped fund American anti-war groups and during the cold war there were numerous organizations that had domestic and foreign communist ties and supported the interest of our enemies. Still, I find it hard to believe someone of Mr. Norquest's stature and commitment to conservative causes is a Muslim Jihadist traitor.

Being part of a front group or doing the bidding of foreign interest is much different than simply having association with others who are associated with terrorist organization. People who are politically active and who try to influence opinion in the Muslim world are no doubt going to have associations with unsavory characters. People who seek to influence the opinion of others have to engage them. I am not going to declare someone guilty by association. Being married to a Muslim does not make you guilty of being a jihadist.

If Mr. Khan and Mr. Norquest are guilty, by association, of having ties to terrorist organizations, so am I. You see, I either am currently, or have been, a member of The American Conservative Union, The National Taxpayers Union, and Americans for Tax Reform. So, if Norquest is guilty of being a member of an organization that has ties to organizations that supported terrorist organizations then I am guilty of belonging to an organization that was heading by a person that was a member of an organization that had ties to organizations that supported terrorist organizations. If Mr. Khan is guilty of being the son of a founder of a terrorist associated organization , I am guilty of being a member of an organization that has on its board a man who is the son of a founder of a terrorist associated organization.

While I am confessing, I also once taught a homebuyersQuran. Also, some years ago I visited Turkey on a 15-day vacation and enjoyed it very much. I ate with Muslims and had long conversations with Muslims and stayed in Muslim-owned pensions and bought some beautiful oriental rugs from Muslim merchants. I visited the Grand Mosque and the Blue Mosque and some other mosque, the names of which I cannot recall.

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Corker-Ryan 2012!

The Weekly Standard has a great article profiling Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin of and Tennessee's Senator Bob Corker. Author Fred Barnes say, "Paul Ryan and Bob Corker are unusual members of Congress. They know a lot."

In the Senate, Bob Corker, the only new Republican elected in 2006, figured out on his own that knowledge creates leverage in Congress. By 2008, he was a major player on the auto industry rescue and reform of financial market regulations, though he wound up voting against both of them. Over the past year, he started from scratch to learn about America’s decaying missile force and grabbed a significant role in passage of the arms control treaty with Russia last month. And in his bid to cut government spending and reduce debt, he’s found an ally outside the Senate—Ryan. (link)

I could get excited about a Corker-Ryan ticket!

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Barack Obama: ‘We Bring a Gun’

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” - Barack Obama

'They ought to put him against a wall and shoot him." - Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski on GOP Governor Rick Scott.

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Monday, January 10, 2011

On Reading the Constituion

Daniel Greenfield: Who Needs the Constitution Anyway? 

The Democratic left insists that we don't need a document to protect our rights, because they'll protect us. Our rights just get in the way of them being able to offer us sweet juicy entitlements and preventing us from shooting ourselves in the head, or getting sick or doing the other stupid things that we do when the smothering blanket of the Nanny State isn't completely covering our heads like a socialist burqa. Where the Constitution held that we need to be protected from government, the Democratic left insists that we need to be protected from ourselves. And anyone who disagrees is obviously shilling for the big corporations. You know the ones whose health insurance we're now obligated to buy, by an unconstitutional law passed to protect us from ourselves. (link)



From The Washington Times: Liberal distaste for the Constitution 

Today, Lincoln's vision of reverence for the laws is needed more by the government than by the people. The point of reading the Constitution on the floor of Congress is to remind those who tread the marbled halls of power that they are not philosopher kings sent to Washington to give life to their every pet theory, every caprice, every whim. If the United States is to survive as a free nation, the government must return to first principles.(link)


Charles Krauthammer: Constitutionalism 

What originalism is to jurisprudence, constitutionalism is to governance: a call for restraint rooted in constitutional text. Constitutionalism as a political philosophy represents a reformed, self-regulating conservatism that bases its call for minimalist government - for reining in the willfulness of presidents and legislatures - in the words and meaning of the Constitution.

Hence that highly symbolic moment on Thursday when the 112th House of Representatives opened with a reading of the Constitution. Remarkably, this had never been done before - perhaps because it had never been so needed. The reading reflected the feeling, expressed powerfully in the last election, that we had moved far, especially the past two years, from a government constitutionally limited by its enumerated powers to a government constrained only by its perception of social need. (link)




Read the Constitution

If you have not recently read the Constitution, I encourage you to read it. Below are some excerpts. The first excerpt  is the first ten amendments which is the Bill of Rights. Everyone should know this, but if you forgot it, please note  that rights are not grants from the government but restrictions on government. Amendment number 10 is no doubt the most often ignored of the Bill of Rights. Amendment 10 is a major restriction on the power of the State.
1.Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

2.A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed


3.No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law


4.The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized


5.No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation


6.In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense


7.In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law


8.Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted


9.The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people


10.The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people
Another excerpt which captures the essence of the Constitution is Section 8, Clearly Congress does not have the authority to do whatever it may wish, whatever may even reflect the popular will, or whatever may seem like a good idea. The powers of Congress are limited and specific and enumerated.
The Congress shall have the power

1.to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States


2.To borrow money on the credit of the United States


3.To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes


4.To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States


5.To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures


6.To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States


7.To establish post-offices and post-roads


8.To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries


9.To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court


10.To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations


11.To declare war, grant letters of marquee and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water


12.To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years


13.To provide and maintain a navy


14.To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces


15.To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions


16.To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress


17.To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings: And,


18.To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof


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Saturday, January 08, 2011

A Boomer reflects on the sixties

 by Rod Williams, 

"Those on the front line of the baby boom generation, once carefree souls who frolicked through the Summer of Love, are now coming to terms with an inexorable fact: The're turning 65 in 2011." (link)

I sick and tired of every news article or TV show that speaks of baby boomers, characterizing them as left wing, hippy, dope-smoking, college students. I was not a carefree soul frolicking through the summer of love in 1967, I was serving in the U. S. Air Force in the middle of Missouri. When Woodstock happened, I was in Viet Nam.

If I had not been in the service, The Summer of Love would still not have had any appeal to me except for the part about getting laid a lot. Woodstock was not my type of music and I would have had no desire to be at that orgy of excess, mud and madness. I am a boomer but don't assume I relate to Woodstock. I was more into Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens.

Even marijuana use is exaggerated in its importance. Many of the kids who smoked a little dope, did not identify dope smoking as something that defined who they were. It was something they did.

Certainly there were societal changes in the sixties and changes in attitude, especially about sex and conformity. Much of the style however such as bell bottom pants and long hair, which may have started out as an anti conformity statements or rebellion, quickly became simply the new style. By the time the fashion of the sixties became popular, that fashion became the new conformity.

Sure there were a lot of weekend hippies and people who adopted a certain fashion in clothes, hair style, musical taste and politics in order to be "cool." But really, that did not amount to much either. By the mid-70's, the braless babes, grunge, beads, long hair and bare feet of the sixties were replaced by the glamor of the disco era.

The politics of not all boomers was radical either. The street theater and leftist activism may have created an impression that all youth were left-wing. That is a misconception. There was always a large conservative youth vote and by the time the bulk of the boomer generation were of voting age, most of them were voting Republican and the youth vote was owned by Ronald Reagan.

In the sixties there were many more hard-working young people who respected their parents and authority than there were hippies. There were more people married, and going to work every day and raising families than there were in college or living in communes. There were many more of us baby boomers who served in Vietnam with honor than there were those who protested the war. As a percentage of young people, an insignificant number were at Woodstock or Haight-Ashbury for the Summer of Love.

The media romanticizes the sixties and creates a stereotype of the youth of the era. We do all relate to the image portrayed by the media. Recently on TV, there was a week of nostalgia and celebration of the life and times of John Lennon commemorating his death. I could care less. John Lennon was not an important person in my life. Don't assume everyone in their 60's is a John Lennon fan. I still miss Johnny Cash.

When I think of the person that epitomizes the anti-establishment spirit of the sixties and who should be the sixties poster child, I think of Charles Manson. The sixties was an ugly period better forgotten.

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Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Will Congress will become more respectful of the Constitution?

Do you remember when during a press conference, Nancy Peolsi was asked where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance? She dismissed the question by saying, “Are you serious?” and then took another question.

The House will no longer be so dismissive of the Constitution. The first order of business in the House when it convenes today will be a reading aloud of the Constitution. A new house rule will require that each bill filed in the House cite its specific constitutional authority.

The reading of the Constitution and the requirement that a bill site its constitutional authority may be symbolic and may not change liberal behavior. I am sure many bills will site what has become the very elastic “commerce clause” or “general welfare clause.” Nevertheless I think this is a good move. Symbolism can be important.

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance may be simple symbolism and may not necessarily make one a better American, but in some way I think it does. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance may cause one to pause and contemplate the loyalty they owe this nation and the meaning of being an American.

For the non-believer, public prayer may be simple symbolism but public prayer brings solemnity to an occasion and often expresses a spirit of a grateful heart. Public prayer may even be beneficial for the non-believer.

Marriage is often dismissed by people who are shacking up as mere symbolism. People will ask, why do we need a piece of paper to show our love for each other? While marriage is a legal bonding it is also a pledge of fidelity and a public statement of intentions. I think it is important. I think it changes behavior.

While the reading of the Constitution may seem like a time-waster to some, I applaud it. Congress needs to remember that their oath of office means smomething. They need to be reminded that there are supposed to be limits on their authority. Maybe citing the constitutional authority for a bill, when a member of Congress drafts a bill, will cause that member to think twice before proposing a major government expansion. Maybe Congress will become more respectful of the Constitution.

Maybe, when the question that was asked of Nancy Pelosi is again asked in the future it will not be dismissed as a ridiculous question unworthy of a response.

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Sunday, January 02, 2011

"RINO on the menu:" Tea Party Nation targets Bob Corker for defeat.

OK Republican, get in a circle. Ready, Aim, Fire!!

Republicans have had a taste of victory, but it is still not too late to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We can now start shooting each other.  To insure we do not take the Senate in 2012, we must defeat sitting Republicans and nominate unelectable "real Republican."  Real Republicans  like Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, and Joe Miller.

Nashville's own Judson Phillips, founder and CEO of Tea Party Nation says 2012 will be good year for the Tea Party and, "RINO is on the menu! Senator Bob Corker is his number one target for defeat.

Running colorful candidates who say interesting things and have a lot of passion is a lot more fun than actually trying to govern. Governing is hard work. We would not want to actually win elections and have to take responsibility for solving problems would we? Being on the outside and going to demonstrations is a lot more fun than actually winning elections isn't it?  Do you think we could nominate Christine O'Donnell as our Presidential nominee? Or, maybe Judson Phillips?

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Favorite Commercial of the year: Piggy goes Wee, Wee, Wee all the way home.

This GEICO commercial is my favorite commercial of the year. I like this commercial better than most of the programs on TV. I laugh every time I see it. "Do woodchucks chuck wood," is a close runner-up.

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Friday, December 31, 2010

Ronald Reagan was a RINO

by Rod Williams, Dec. 31, 2010 - Even conservative icon former President Ronald Reagan could not pass muster today with the faux-conservative populist faction of the Republican party that fashions themselves as the "real Republicans." Reagan would not pass the Party Purity test and would be denounced as a RINO.

Below is a list of Reagan's sins that would get him denounced as a RINO and targeted for purging from the party.

  • His background: Reagan was once a liberal Democrat, an admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and active supporter of New Deal policies. He was an ex-Hollywood actor and an ex-labor union leader. 
  • He would fail the "family values" and religious test: He was divorced, had a poor relationship with his children, had a gay son, and he did not attend church regularly.
  • He raised taxes: He signed laws that raised taxes 11 times and the 1982 tax hike was the largest hike in history at that time.
  • He supported and Congress passed into law Immigration reform or "amnesty for illegal aliens."
  • National debt: Our national debt more than tripled during Reagan’s time in office. We went from a major creditor nation to a leading debtor nation.
  • Reagan compromised: He "worked across the aisle", he negotiated, he cut deals. One of his most successful deals was the 1983 agreement extending the Social Security trust fund's solvency for a couple of generations by raising the retirement age and expanding social security to government employees.
  • He appointed liberal judges: Judge Vaughn Walker who recently struck down California's proposition 8 which barred gay people from marrying was a Reagan appointee. 
  • Reagan accomplished arms control: Reagan made bold, some would say radical, proposals for nuclear arms reductions. Reagan proposed the abolition of all nuclear-armed missiles. Reagan and Gorbachev eventually concluded the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement and established the foundation for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) process.
  • Reagan advocated playing nice: Regan's 11th Commandment was, "Thou shalt not speak ill of any other republican.” He was civil. He advocated a "big tent" Republican Party. He courted those outside the party. He reached out to “Reagan Democrats." In order to build a majority he campaigned for many people with whom he disagreed.
Yep, Reagan was a RINO.

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Names to call Republicans

A Republican with whom you disagree is a "Rino.”  A Republican with whom you really disagree is a "Rino Neo-con Republican." Some Republicans are " dyed-in-the-wool Rino, neo-con Republican." If you want to play the class envy card you can call a Republican a "Country Club Republican."  Thus we have the "neo-con, Country Club, dyed-in-the wool Rino." If a Republican ever changes his mind or reverses his position when circumstances change he may be a  "flip-flopping, Rino, Country club, neo-con Republicans."  We also have "traitor republican Rinos." And then we have the "establishment insider-old boy network Republicans."  We also have "Rockefeller Republicans" and "Blue Blood Republicans."

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

You might be a Rino.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 28, 2010 - Are you a Rino? RINO is the acronym for "Republican in Name Only." It is the new invective to hurl at fellow Republicans with whom you disagree. Republicans are real good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. One way they do that is by driving from their midst anyone who does not agree with them 100% of the time on all points. Holier-than-thou "real" Republicans want to purge the Party of all but the pure in heart. Their favorite sport is the circular firing squad.

Some famous Rinos are William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, both Bushs, John McCain, George Will, and David Brooks. There are a lot of Rinos. Our own Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are Rinos.

There are only a few "Real" Republicans and they include Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Ann Coulter. We can't be sure about Glen Beck.

I must be a Rino; I get told I am a lot. I generally want to enlarge the Party, not shrink it. I tend to think that if someone agrees with me 51% of the time, I want us to be on the same side. Like Ronald Reagan, I am a "big tent" kind of Republican. That makes me a Rino.

Below is a list to use to determine if you are a Rinos.

  • If you supported the Party’s presidential candidate in 2008, you might be a Rino.
  • If you supported the START treaty because it leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to Kingdom Come and because the President committed to an $85 billion, 10-year plan that would make sure that our weapons work and because it allows for inspection of Russian warheads and because our military leaders say it does nothing to interfere with the development of our missile defense system and because the last six Republican Secretaries of State supported it, you might be a Rino.
  •  If you think that maybe-just maybe, there could be something to this global warming theory and if you have any doubts that all of the scientist who endorse it are part of a grand liberal conspiracy, you might be a Rino.
  • If you think that at some point we need to pass some sort of legislation (similar to that proposed by George W. Bush), that will document the illegal immigrants who are in this country and allow an earned path to citizenship for some of them (after paying back taxes and a penalty), and work permits for some others, you might be a Rino.
  • If you think that Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii and is an American citizen, you might be a Rino.
  •  If you have any doubts that Barack Obama is a Muslim, you might be a Rino.
  • If you think that the Muslim faith, practiced by 1.2 to 1.57 billion people or about 20% of the world’s population, is really a religion, then you might be a Rino.
  • If you think the First Amendment is just as important as the Second or the Tenth, you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you think the First Amendment applies to followers of the Muslim faith and they have the right to build a house of worship in Murfressboro, you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you think it is OK for foreigners to own property in America and you are not absolutely outraged that some illegal immigrants have Visa cards and bank accounts and can get loans and you do not think it wise to take power away from the private sector and transfer that power to the government to decide who can get loans and visa cards and bank accounts, then you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you agree with the late William F. Buckley and religious right leader Pat Robertson that we should decriminalize marijuana, you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you do not think “compromise” is a dirty word, you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you think “pragmatism” is a virtue, you might be a Rino.
     
  • If you think “electability” should be a consideration in choosing your party’s candidates, you might be a Rino.

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